English

Noun

prie-dieu ‎(plural prie-dieus or prie-dieux)

1. A piece of furniture on which someone can pray, consisting of a cushioned area to kneel on, with a built-in ledge for books.
   • 1936, Djuna Barnes, Nightwood, Faber & Faber 2007, p. 42:

     Leaning her childish face and full chin on the shelf of the prie-Dieu, her eyes fixed, she laughed, out of some hidden capacity, some lost subterranean humour [...].

   • 1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance, Faber & Faber 2004 (Avignon Quintet), p. 772:

     thinking to improve his hour, he took to kneeling at a prie-dieu and ventured upon some propitiatory prayers to the Virgin which might serve as a sort of scaffolding to the more important confession which was to follow.

   • 1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial 2007, p. 87:

     At her prie-dieu, she read in a calm voice the prayers for the dying.

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